Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
After several months of protests, the giraffe “Benito” will finally be transferred to the zoo “Africam Safari” in Puebla.
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Through a press release, the State Government informed that Africam Safari confirmed its willingness to receive Benito, and the transfer will take place once the necessary documents are obtained from the federal authorities.
The document indicated that, in this regard, contact was established weeks ago with the Africam Safari Wildlife Conservation Park, in Valsequillo, Puebla, with the purpose of turning this space into Benito’s new home.
Ana Felix, representative of “Somos Su Voz”, indicated that this came about after the efforts made by the animal movements “Somos Su Voz” and “Salvemos a Benito”, who for more than eight months in 2023, led marches and collected signatures.
The activist emphasized that this is an achievement for the animal community, in spite of the multiple attempts to approach the Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), who never gave them an answer.
The place where Benito will be transferred to is the “Africam Safari” zoo, a place accredited by the “Association of Zoos and Aquariums” and the “World Association of Zoos and Aquariums”, located 16.5 km from the city of Puebla.
In this zoo, the animals roam in controlled freedom, which represents a significant improvement for the giraffe Benito, compared to his habitat in the parque central .
“It was hard work that was done over 8 months, but I believe and we know that it was worth all the effort. The days we were stationed at the site, the marches and the collection of signatures,” he declared.
The decision to relocate Benito not only symbolizes a triumph for animal movements, but also represents a significant advance in animal welfare awareness and policies, Felix considered.
In this regard, Councilwoman Alma Arredondo Salinas pointed out that working together with the movements was fundamental to achieve this significant change in Benito’s quality of life.
The official emphasized the importance of collaboration between civil society in order to improve the lives of the animals, especially in cases like this one, where the need was evident.
However, since Benito’s arrival to Ciudad Juarez, he was a cause of concern for the activists and the community, since he lacked the necessary infrastructure to live and guarantee him a dignified life.
It should be recalled that last October, personnel from the Directorate of Ecology and the Municipal Ecology and Civil Protection Commission conducted a review of the Central Park, where they identified several irregularities.
Although the park manager attended to some of these observations, it was clear that significant improvements were needed, especially in the space designated for Benito.
Likewise, Benito’s situation is not the only one that animal movements have been concerned about, as the death of rabbits, ducks and a turkey has been documented in the parque central,while the lake of this place has contamination levels of 2,400 Colony Forming Units (CFU) of contamination by a bacterium called E. Coli.
